Are They Real?
by Katniss Slays
Summary: When Katniss starts seeing Prim and Finnick wherever she goes, she starts doubting their deaths. But can they be alive? Or is she just imagining things as usual? Characters and names (even the childrens') belongs to Suzanne Collins, not me.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Is That Prim?

"Mommy! Mommy!" Willow comes running up to me. "What is it, Cookie?" I ask. "Rye fell down!" she explains. "Go pick him up then," I tell her. She nods and runs to her younger brother.

I turn around to see Peeta sitting next to me on the grass. "What's got you so worried?" he asks.

"Nothing," I reply. "Just a bad dream."

"About her?" he asks. I nod. He means Prim. My sister.

"Katniss," Peeta says, "why are you always so worried? She's in a better place now. She'll come back to you."

I lay my head on Peeta's shoulder. "I know. But I miss her. And Finnick."

"Not Gale?" Peeta asks, grinning. "Shoo!" I nudge him. "OK, OK, I'm sorry," Peeta laughs. "But he misses you, I bet," he adds. "Peeta!" I nearly yell. "I'm sorry, Katniss, I'm sorry," he grins.

"It's OK," I say. Suddenly, I see a girl poke her head out from behind a bush. She has blue eyes and blonde hair and her face was as fresh as a raindrop. We all know there's only one person with a fresh-as-a-raindrop face. Prim.

Before I could stop myself, I tear away from Peeta and run to her. To Prim. To my sister. But she's off. Running away. I stop. Why would Prim run away? Prim doesn't run from me. It probably wasn't Prim.

"Katniss!" Peeta calls as he comes running towards me. "I saw Prim," I whisper but I'm barely audible. "I saw her. It was Prim. I knew it. But she ran away."

"Oh, Katniss," Peeta lays his hands on my shoulders. "It can't be Prim. You were just hallucinating, probably. If it _was_ her, she wouldn't have run off like that."

I hug Peeta as hard as I can, tears streaming down my face. Willow comes running to us, Rye following closely behind.

"I saw her. I saw Prim," I whisper. "Mommy, who's Prim?" Willow asks. "She's your aunt. Aunt Prim," I pull away from Peeta. "What happened to her?" Rye asks. "She's somewhere better now," I say. "Come on, let's go have tea," Peeta says, shooing the kids inside. I shoot him a grateful smile.

"Daddy, these are yummy!" Willow says, chewing on the scone Peeta baked.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Cookie," I say. She nods.

I look out the window and I see her again. Prim. This time she doesn't run away when I see her. She's come to me. She's alive. And she's here.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Prim Is Here For Me, or Is She?

"Prim!" I call out, running towards the window. Once again, she runs away. Wasn't she here for me?

Once again, Peeta, Willow and Rye rush to the window.

"Prim was just here!" I screamed.

"Katniss," Peeta starts, "I know it's hard for you, but–"

"SHE WAS JUST HERE!" I cut him off. "SHE WAS HERE FOR ME! I JUST KNOW IT!"

"Katniss, stop yelling," Peeta says calmly. "You're scaring the kids."

I take deep breaths. "She came twice," I whimper.

"You were probably just imagining it, Katniss," Peeta says. "How about we try and forget it?"

I nod. I turn to Rye. "Since Rye here is three years old now," I pinch his nose playfully, "he'll get to move out of his cot!"

"Yay!" Rye and Willow start cheering loudly. Peeta and I laugh. He goes to get the bed so he can build it while I take Willow and Rye for a walk.

"Come on," I lead them out of the house into the sunset. "Do you want to go to the woods?" I ask. They both nod, so we walk towards the fence.

"Be careful, both of you," I say as I gently pull each of them into the woods. They both giggle.

"How about we go to a lake?" I ask. "It's not far." They both nod so I lead the way.

"Mommy, why did Aunt Prim leave?" Willow asks. "She didn't leave, Cookie," I say. "So what happened?" Rye asks me. "She–– The world go too small for her," I say quickly. "Oh," Willow says. And luckily, they both don't ask anything else about Prim.

"Be careful, Rye, you might fall in!" I warn as Rye stands on the edge of the lake. "No, I won't mommy!" he exclaims. But just then, he tips and falls into the water. "Rye!" Willow and I run to him. He climbs back into the grass. "Just fine," he says. Willow and I laugh. "Come on, both of you. Let's go home," I say.

"Peeta, we're home!" I call, opening the front door.

"Hello, Katniss, oh–" He freezes when he sees Rye. "Why are you wet?"

"Fell into a lake," Willow explains. "I'll go get a towel," Willow volunteers, rushing up the stairs. She comes back with Rye's baby blue towel and she helps me dry him off. "Can I see my bed now?" Rye asks. "Of course, little piggy," Peeta smiles, leading them upstairs. Rye's bed was wooden like Willow's, but had blue sheets instead of pink.

Rye happily jumps up and down. "I'll go put the tools away," Peeta says. "I'll get them to bed," I tell Peeta.

Rye and Willow wash up and hop into bed.

"Mommy, sing us a lullaby!" Rye pleads.

I nod and begin to sing them _Deep in the Meadow_. They don't fall asleep when I finish, so I say, "I used to sing that to Aunt Prim."

Rye and Willow both nod sleepily. I kiss the top of their heads and whisper, "Good night," before switching off the lights and walking out.

"They're asleep?" Peeta says when I go back to our room. I nod. He was already in bed, so I quickly go change and lay down.

I look at the ceiling as I speak. "Peeta, do you trust me?" I ask. "Of course I do, Katniss," he answers. "Do you believe me?" I ask. "Why wouldn't I?" he says. "I actually did see Prim. I don't think it was a hallucination," I say. "It was Prim. _That_ Prim. Primrose Everdeen. No one else."

"How about we find out tomorrow if we see her again?" Peeta suggests. I nod and fall asleep.

But the next day brought even more surprises.

 **Hello, Readers! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. The next chapters will be longer, and that's a promise! What do you think is going on? Feel free to PM me any questions that you have so far, and also review. Thanks, bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

No, It Can't Be

"Primrose Everdeen," Effie announces. I freeze. I can't move. There she goes. Prim. But I can't reach her. Because I am frozen.

"Peeta Mellark," Effie announces again. Peeta goes up on stage too. But I still can't move. Prim was going to die in the arena. But I can't save her. Because I am still frozen. Then I hear her voice ringing in my head, "Katniss, you didn't save me! You let me die!"

"No, no, no!" I yell. "Prim!"

"Katniss," Peeta shakes me awake. "Katniss, are you alright?"

I jump into his arms. "No. I dreamt about her. She was reaped, and I was frozen, unable to do anything. And she blamed me for her death." My heart pounds in my chest.

"Katniss, it's OK," Peeta reassures me. My breathing returns to normal.

Peeta goes downstairs to make breakfast and I freshen up and go get Rye and Willow.

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" I say. Rye and Willow jump straight up. "Gosh, did you get any sleep at _all_ last night?" I say. "We woke early and talked for a whole hour," Willow responds. "A _whole hour_?" I say. They nod. "Now get ready for breakfast, you two!" I laugh before walking out. I walk downstairs and into the kitchen where Peeta was cooking eggs and bacon.

"Hey, Peet," I say. "Don't call me that," he rolls his eyes jokingly. He hands me a plate of bacon and eggs and I sit down. I wait for Willow and Rye. Once they come running down the stairs, pounding each step, they sit down to eat. A minute or so after they begin, Peeta joins us and we eat.

"What are we doing today?" Rye asks. "Baking," Peeta says. "I'm not very good," Willow says. "You'll come with me," I tell her. She nods.

"Careful, Cookie," I tell her as we cross the fence. She giggles.

I retrieve my bow from where it usually was – the hollow log. Willow and I walk farther into the woods. Suddenly, we hear a noise and Willow points to a tree. A squirrel. I quickly shoot it and Willow goes to get it. She brings it back to me and I say, "Thank you, Cookie. Should we go farther?" to which she nods.

We walk farther and farther, looking for at least one more animal. "Where did all the animals go, Willow?" I ask her. "Maybe they ran away," she giggles. We go even farther and hear the Mockingjays sing. "That's beautiful," Willow remarks. "It is," I say. "Can we stop now? I'm tired," Willow says and I nod. We lay down and look at the sky. Willow points to clouds saying what they look like as I laugh.

Suddenly, the Mockingjays stop singing out of the blue. "Willow, something's wrong," I tell Willow and we both jump to our feet. "What is it?" Willow asks. "I don't know," I say. We walk closer and closer to the trees.

There she was again. Prim. Peeking from behind the trees. "Prim!" I yell. Willow runs after me as I run to Prim. But she runs away. Willow races after her, but it's no use. Willow's not fast enough. She skips back to me. "She was too fast," she says. I kiss the top of her head. "It's OK, Cookie," I say. The Mockingjays resume their song. "Shall we go home? It's getting late," I say. Willow nods.

We start our trek home, but the Mockingjays pause their songs again. Willow and I search for whatever was making them stop, but there was no sight of anyone or anything. Willow suddenly points up to a tree, "Look!" I follow her gaze, and who should I see but a bronze-haired sea-green-eyed man. "Finnick!" I call. He freezes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Runaway Blonde

Finnick – or whoever that man was – jumps down from the tree, but runs away before we could catch him.

"Mommy, who's Finnick?" Willow asks, panting from the running. "He was my friend," I say. Yes, friend. He's not just an ally anymore. He was the one that helped me get through the time when Peeta was in the Capitol. He can't be counted as just an ally anymore.

"Come on, Willow. Let's go home," I say.

We cross the fence and walk home, far too tired to run.

When we get home, Rye comes running to us with a tray of cookies. Chocolate chip cookies.

"We baked you cookies!" Rye cheers excitedly. I laugh. "Well, we brought you squirrels," Willow smiles. I go and put the squirrel on the countertop and Peeta comes out from the backyard. "What were you doing?" I ask. "Nothing," he grins. "Doesn't look like nothing," I roll my eyes. "I just talked to someone, OK?" he says. "Right," I say in an unbelieving tone. "Well, what did you get?" he asks. I hold up the squirrel.

Willow comes running to us. "Daddy! Daddy! We saw Finnick and Aunt Prim!" she yells excitedly. Peeta's eyes grow wide. "You mean– Aren't they dead?" he says, shocked. "We aren't sure, but there was someone like Finnick sitting on a tree and he ran before we could catch him. And Prim was behind a tree. Willow tried to catch her, but she couldn't catch up," I explain. Peeta shakes his head. "What?" I ask. "Nothing," he says. He turns to Willow and Rye. "Who wants cookies?" he says. They both cheer excitedly.

"Mommy, can I go outside?" Rye asks as we eat. "I want some fresh air."

"OK, but be careful," I warn. "Want me to go with you?" Peeta asks. "No thanks," Rye says before cheerfully skipping off outside.

After a while, when he doesn't come back in, Willow goes to find him. She runs in, panting, minutes later. "Rye's gone!" she says, panicked.

 **Sorry for the short chapter! I'll write a longer one soon. And if you're wondering how long that will take, I'll write a new chapter in a couple of hours hopefully. Also, where do you think Rye went? And why did those Finnick and Prim lookalikes ran away? Once again, feel free to PM me if you have some questions (because I know this story can get confusing). As always, thanks for reading and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mommy, Prim Was Here!

"Rye!" we all rush out the door. "Rye, sweetie, where are you?" I call out, worried. I frantically search for Rye. Where did he go? "Rye!" Willow calls out. "Rye, are we playing hide and seek?" she tries again. I would've laughed if I wasn't so worried. Maybe Rye _is_ playing hide and seek.

"Rye, hide and seek is over! Come out!" I call out. We all run around the house, looking for him.

Suddenly, Rye comes running from behind a bush. The bush where Prim was.

"Mommy! Daddy!" he calls, running to us. He jumps into our arms and we hug him until he can barely breathe.

"Where were you?" Willow scolds. Rye turns to me. "Mommy, Aunt Prim was here," he says. "What?" my eyes grow wide. "Where?"

"She was behind that bush and she told me to come to her. She told me to tell you to take care of yourself, and that she's OK," he explains. "But–but she's dead!" I say. Or is she?

"You were probably imagining it," Peeta says. Willow turns to him. "Mommy's seen her, I've seen her, and Rye's seen her. She must be real!" she says.

"And we've seen Finnick too!" I say. Willow nods. "But why are they running away from us?" she asks. "I don't know, Cookie," I say, tired. The sun just started to set. "How about we go inside?"

Willow nods and we walk inside. "Mommy, she kissed the top of my head, too!" Rye says. "She said I was a very sweet boy and I told her she was a very sweet aunt. Then she told me to go back to you and she walked away."

I think about it all day. Prim was alive. She was alive! Prim was really alive!

"Katniss," Peeta says as I absentmindedly bit into a cookie. "Katniss!" his voice rises. "Hmm," I turn to him. "Do you think they could really be alive?" he asks. I nod. "Why else would we see her? You're the one that hasn't," I say. Willow comes and tugs at me shirt. "Mommy," she whispers. "Aunt Prim is in the backyard and she's talking to Rye again."

I hop straight up and make my way towards the back door. Rye sits on the steps. "She's gone now," he says. Peeta lays his hands on my shoulder. I turn towards him. "Is she alive, Peeta? Is she?" I whisper. "Prim…..is alive, Katniss. And so is Finnick," he says. "How do you know Finnick is alive?" I ask. "I–I–talked to him, Katniss," he mutters.

 **So…..what did you think? Are you shocked? I hope so. Why do you think Finnick and Prim are keeping their lives secret? What is going on? When did Peeta talk to Finnick? More importantly, how did Peeta talk to Finnick? These questions will be answered in the upcoming chapters! You can also set story alert so you know when the new chapters are up! Until then, farewell, readers! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Truth

"When did you talk to Finnick?" I say, my eyes growing wide. "That other day – after Rye and I baked cookies. He showed up at our backdoor," Peeta says. "Why didn't you tell me, Peeta?!" I yell at him. "He told me not to," Peeta mutters. "What else did he say?" I say, my voice softening. "He told me that he survived and he was alive," Peeta says. "How could he have survived?" I say. "Maybe you can ask your mother, I bet she knows about them since she's in 4," Peeta says. I nod and walk towards the telephone that was on the wall. We never really used it before.

I dial my mother's number and it starts to ring. Then I hear her voice. "Hello, Mrs. Everdeen speaking."

"Mom," I say softly. "Katniss! How are you?" she says cheerfully. "Prim is alive," I say. She doesn't say anything. "She and Finnick are alive, and you know about it," I say. I feel palms on my shoulders and turn to find Peeta. My mother still won't say anything. "They're alive, aren't they?" I say. After a long pause, she finally admits. "Katniss, they're alive. They've been trying to get your attention for the past few days."

"But how? They couldn't have survived," I say. "They were ashes."

"No, Katniss," she says. "Why don't you ask them yourself?"

"How?" I ask. "Tomorrow. Outside," and with that, she puts down the phone.

"So?" Peeta asks. "They're alive. They'll meet us tomorrow outside," I say. He nods and goes to get the kids ready for bed. I sit down on the couch to think. _How are they alive? How did they survive? It was impossible. But I saw them. And they'll meet me tomorrow. How is all this possible?_

….

"Katniss!" Peeta shakes me. My eyes flutter open. "You fell asleep," he says. It was still dark and I was on the couch. "Oh, sorry," I say as I climb up the stairs to get into bed. I climb in next to Peeta and he strokes my hair. "Are you still thinking about it?" he asks. I nod. "I can't get it off my mind," I say. He presses a kiss to my forehead and says, "Don't worry about it. We'll meet them tomorrow and we can learn the truth."

"The truth," I echo. "The truth isn't always sweet."

"It is when we know Finnick and Prim are alive," Peeta says.

"Maybe you're right," I say.

"Of course I'm right. Have I ever been left?" he jokes. We both laugh.

Prim and Finnick are alive, and they're coming to see us tomorrow. Is there anything more confusing?

 **Sorry, it's been too long. I got a fever so expect a lot of chapters – they might not necessarily be of this story, because I'm writing a story called** _ **Love Is A Weakness**_ **and I may add more chapters to that story too. Anyways, I'm going to go write some new chapters, so by the time you read this, I'll probably be writing. So see yah!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They're Alive….And Here

"Come on, Wivvow!" Rye calls out to Willow in his cute voice.

"Coming!" she calls back before running to her brother.

I lay my head on Peeta's shoulder and he clasps my hands. "We'll meet them today," he whispers. "I can't wait but I can wait," I say. He laughs. "You're confusing," he says.

Suddenly, in the distance, we see a blonde-haired girl and a bronze-haired man. Prim and Finnick. I jump up and run to them.

"Katniss!" Prim calls out. Yes, I finally hear her voice. It's exactly her thirteen-year-old voice, since she's in her twenties now, but it still had that gentleness and care in it. "Prim!" I run to her and hug her. Tears start streaming down my face. Not sad tears. Happy tears.

I pull away and get a good look at her. She was even prettier than before. Her face was still fresh as a raindrop, but her hair was longer and it swayed in the wind. She was wearing a pink dress that I've seen Annie wear before. She was taller, but still a bit shorter than me. Her skin was as pure as before and a big smile was plastered on her face.

"Oh, I've missed you," I say. Then I turn to Finnick. Nothing much has changed about him except his hair was a bit curlier than before and his eyes were glowing. "Finnick!" I say before I hug him. "Hello to you too, Girl On Fire," he smiles. Peeta, Willow and Rye come running. Rye tugs at Prim's dress and hugs him and Willow. "Hello, Marshmallows," she beams at them. "Hello, Finnick," Peeta says and he and Finnick hug.

Once we're done greeting each other, I finally get to ask my question. "How did you make it out?"

"How about we go inside?" Peeta says. "I baked a cake."

I nod and we all go inside and sit down to have tea. "So," I start, "how did you do it?"

Finnick and Prim look at each other before turning back to us. "I found another opening to the tunnel before you blew it up," Finnick says. "Then I crawled back to Thirteen."

My jaw drops. Finnick is just so brave.

"Wow," is all Peeta can say. "Wow indeed," I say. I turn to my sister. "Prim?"

"I ran out of there," she says. "Isn't it obvious?"

"But why did you keep your lives secret?" Peeta asks.

"Well, Katniss," Finnick starts. "I wanted to surprise you sometime. Only your mother, Annie, and Johanna know we're still alive. Prim, go on."

Prim nods. "Well, I was on a life support machine, and I didn't want to tell you because I know the truth would hurt. Like Finnick said, only our mother, Johanna, and Annie knew. Then my mother and Annie thought it would be great time to surprise you, so we showed up everywhere to shock you."

"You talked to Peeta," I say to Finnick. He nods. "Yes, I did," he says. I open my mouth to speak again but he says, "I didn't want you to know just then."

"Oh," I say. "You kept us wondering if you were really dead the past week."

They both laugh. "That was the point of it all," Prim says.

"Well, I'm glad you're alive," I admit.

"Prim was begging to meet you and your mother finally agreed to it," Finnick says. "I was dying to not scare you, I must admit."

We all laugh. "So, Prim, you married?" I grin.

"Not exactly…" she bites her lip and I laugh. "But I'm with Rory."

My eyes grow wide. " _That_ Rory?"

She nods. "They know we're alive too, Katniss. And please don't blame Gale for the parachutes."

"I don't," I say. "It was Coin's hovercraft that dropped the parachute bombs."

"Rory sometimes comes visit us in 4," Finnick says. "And Prim and he became best friends…and then lovers."

I smile. "That's what would've happened to Gale and me," I look at Peeta, "if it weren't for this wonderful person."

Peeta raises his eyebrows. "So you wanted that?"

"Not really," I say.

"Well, Katniss, it's nice to finally get to see you again," Prim says. "After….all these years."

"It's been too long, Prim," I smile. She nods. "Far too long," she agrees.

But just then…..

 **Cliffy! Haha! I'm sorry, but like I said, I'm stuck in bed so I'll be writing more and more. And until then, farewell, readers of this story. Never mind – just bye.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

What Was She Doing Here?

But just then, I catch a glimpse of someone I didn't want to see. It was her. President Alma Coin. How was she alive? She walks past our window, staring at me.

I get up and run to the door. The rest of them follow me, but Coin is already gone. Disappeared. But there's nowhere for her to disappear to.

"I saw Coin!" I tell Prim. She grabs my arm. "She's not alive," she reassures me.

"Imagination," Finnick says. I nod my head and we sit back down. Why am I imagining Coin?

"So how's things holding up?" Finnick asks. "Katniss and her nightmares," Peeta answers for me. He smiles at me, "They were mostly about the two of you."

"So now that we're alive, you probably won't have anymore?" Prim asks. "Probably," I say, forcing a smile. "Katniss, that is a forced smile, I can tell," Prim says.

My smile melts. "I should be smiling, yes, but after I saw Coin–"

"After you saw someone that _looks_ like Coin," Finnick cuts in, "you can no longer smile."

I nod. "But I'll try, I guess."

"Good," Prim says. "Practice makes perfect."

I grin. "I taught you that."

"Yes, and I taught you how to smile," she tells me, grinning. I laugh. "You sure did, Prim."

They were very much alive. And here for me. I love them.

 **Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the delay – and the short chapter! My fever went up to 102 and the thermometer was going to explode and my whole body was erupting like a volcano! I truly am sorry. I'm really sick so please wait for the next chapter because I can't write it right now. I just came home from the hospital an hour ago and I'm terribly sorry for the short chapter. I'll write more soon.**

 **Thanks for understanding!**


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